Chapter 28: I Want to Retake the Exam—Do You Need a Zombie?

During the following day, Han Qianyun, the team captain, kept pestering Hua Tian with questions, constantly asking what had happened and probing every detail. So Hua Tian recounted everything that had occurred over those seven days. The inexplicable challenge scenes were too shocking to mention, and since he no longer cared, he feared that speaking of them might bring bad luck, as if uttering a curse upon his family.

In the end, he told her about the treasure map. “So, that’s your reward. You still have nine rewards left to find, and there’s a risk you might not get them all, especially since you only found this one in the last two minutes,” he explained, watching her nod in understanding.

“I get it. There are more than four months left before the professional tournament. You should focus now! Either reach the advanced level or find your second reward. I don’t believe your second reward will just be equipment—you must find it! Otherwise… ha!” Han Qianyun was delighted, already imagining the possibilities.

Seeing his captain so joyful, Hua Tian could guess what she was thinking—likely about crafting books or something similar. But recalling her words about items for the ten saviors, perhaps it was possible.

“If there’s a hint, I can look for it. If not, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll just keep leveling up for now. I haven’t rested these past few days, so I’ll go home and sleep,” Hua Tian said, turning to leave and logging out to rest. After seven days of nonstop gaming, he had barely paused for an hour at a time, and in the last three days, he hadn’t slept at all.

Returning to the real world, Hua Tian bought a mountain of food and, upon reaching home, feasted for nearly an hour. He then locked up, worried he wouldn’t be able to sleep, and downed three or four bottles of alcohol before drifting off, face flushed.

While Hua Tian slept, in the world of the game…

“Captain, should we focus on levels or skills?” Liu Wei asked, noticing the sudden call for a team meeting.

“Even if you get new skills, you can’t learn them yet. If your equipment isn’t at least purple-tier, it’s better to level up. When we kill monsters with Hua Tian, we don’t gain any kill points—don’t you know? Our gear is better than any team’s, but the tournament stats are separate and don’t carry over. As for skills, we’re not lacking. Our highest level is twenty-five, and my sister is still at beginner. She’s spent a hundred coins trying ten times, yet hasn’t passed. While Hua Tian is resting, focus on leveling up. Don’t brag about your full purple set. I just showed off in front of him—my gear seems childish by comparison, like a kid demanding ten dollars from a hundred. There are definitely lucky people out there, maybe even with red-tier gear. I’ll try to find out,” Han Qianyun said, burdened with thoughts about her team’s levels and her sister’s struggles.

The teammates, knowing the captain had a Void-tier belt, admitted they couldn’t compare—a full rainbow set, with at least one Void-tier piece. When Hua Tian logged out, they hurriedly left the office, grinding levels and waiting for his return.

After they left, Han Qianyu, her younger sister, quietly sought out her wealthy elder sibling.

“I want…” The adorable little sister clung to her sister’s leg, opening her mouth with a cute cry.

“You failed again, didn’t you? Can’t you pass just once? You really are something. During the exam, your stats average just three points—you can’t just rely on gear and skill speed to get through. I only took the test once, scored 171, and didn’t have your troubles. I don’t blame you, but you could train your passive skill to level five for better movement speed, and learn a personal skill. I’ll keep an eye on Hua Tian’s methods—if there’s a high-level knockback skill, I’ll give it to you. Just keep the zombies airborne and don’t let them hit you; what they do up there doesn’t matter,” she said, handing over a hundred coins.

After hearing this, her sister suddenly found her elder sibling magnificent—beautiful, charming, and wise. She slipped away to seek a passive skill.

After searching, she found none.

Without an intermediate skill, she couldn’t advance. Her passive skill wasn’t high enough to learn, but she could learn one personal skill. The rest were just techniques: pet skills, equipment skills. Pet skills weren’t usable yet, and even if they were, exams forbid them, so learning them was useless. The intermediate exam now lacked high platforms for dodging—success depended on technique and personal skill… Poor me, I’m miserable.

Forget it, everyone go home, find your own way. Time to sleep.

Ten hours later, Hua Tian woke naturally, discovering a strange, faint void mark on the back of his hand. He thought nothing of it, assuming he’d drawn it himself as a prank. Checking the time, it was past eight the next morning. After breakfast, he logged on again, ready for a new day of earning.

Entering the game, he glanced at his skills and found that he finally had a group skill.

Testing his new weapon’s abilities, he realized he could switch between different types. He still preferred gauntlets, finding them the most comfortable. Examining his stats:

Name: Wildkill
Level: 25 [Intermediate]
Class: Berserker Shield
Attributes: 150.150.150 [Max for beginner and intermediate]

Skills: Earthshaker [Void-tier lv5], Heaven-devouring Fist [Void-tier lv5], Lucky Meteor [Void-tier passive lv1], Command [Weapon enhancement], Blood Claw [Weapon enhancement], Devour [Weapon skill], Transform [Weapon skill], War Ashes [Weapon skill], Magic Slash [Weapon skill], Divine Burst Dance [Weapon skill], Mimic [Weapon skill], No One Behind [Equipment skill], Guardian [Equipment skill], Ignore [Equipment skill]

Technique: Zombie-hunting Fist [Level 10]

Equipment: Illusion Wave Will [Void-tier set], Wave Leader [Void-tier weapon]

Team: Han Crown Squad [Vice Captain]

Team coins: 1,301,184,535

Gold total: 59

Skill command: Sea monsters: 480,231 [units]

Four hundred eighty thousand sea monsters. Suddenly, he remembered—what happened to his twenty thousand zombies? Better ask about that.

He went to the team leader’s office, found Captain Han, and learned the reason.

“Oh, my zombie legion! My equipment collection squad! Why have you left me, gone off and become equipment? … By the way, Captain Han, do you still want zombies?”